takeoff
Americannoun
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takeoffs
plural
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a taking or setting off; the leaving of the ground, as in leaping or in beginning a flight in an airplane.
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a taking off from a starting point, as in beginning a race.
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the place or point at which a person or thing takes off.
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a humorous or satirical imitation; burlesque.
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Machinery. a shaft geared to a main shaft for running auxiliary machinery.
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a branch connection to a pipe, electric line, etc.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of takeoff
First recorded in 1820–30; noun use of verb phrase take off
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A slide in oil prices provided some breathing room for tech stocks’ takeoff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
A United Airlines crew twice aborted their takeoff, and then declared an emergency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
My arms are extended at my sides and I’m leaning forward slightly — not unlike a 3-year-old pretending to be an airplane readying for takeoff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Dispatches sent by pool media on board noted a Secret Service order that window shades be lowered during takeoff -- an unusual instruction outside of combat zones.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
For takeoff and climb, it would need advanced jet engines that sucked in air, mixed it with fuel, and burned the mixture.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
Teams also closely monitored how the X-59 performed during takeoffs, landings, and flight operations.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026
Narrow-body jet engines experience higher stress from repeated takeoffs and landings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
This week the FAA slowed takeoffs at several airports in response to growing shortages, including at air traffic control centers in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025
All takeoffs from Israel’s main airport were halted for several hours; restaurants closed; the country’s largest port stopped working.
From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2025
There were no clever skits, no farcical takeoffs on the subject of Stanley Martin and the Nipe.
From Anything You Can Do ... by Randall Garrett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
